BURNABY — Jermaine Haley is capable of virtuosity every time he steps on a basketball court, but what has some of the sport’s most learned talent evaluators tripping over their verbiage to describe the Grade 11 talent with the Burnaby South Secondary Rebels isn’t the way he can put on a show for the TV cameras.

Instead, what makes Haley one of this province’s most prodigious hoop talents in recent memory is his ability to not only recognize, in the moment, the essence of what the game is demanding, but to then provide, in the most selfless way possible, the most efficient answer.

Put that kind of internal engine inside the body of a 6-foot-6 point guard, and then trace the family bloodlines to a dad (Jermaine Sr.) who played in the NFL and a grandfather (Otis) who high-jumped with the U.S. national team, and you begin to understand why his story is gaining so much traction.

“His IQ is just beyond his years,” says Pasha Bains of the Drive Basketball club, who has worked with 16-year-old Haley the past four seasons. “He plays like a grown man, the way he skips the ball, reads zones, reads cuts. He just knows how to play, and he’s a 6-6 point guard that loves to pass.”

That much will be on display Friday (2:30 p.m.) as the Quad A No. 5-ranked Rebels play host to the No. 7 Sardis Falcons of Chilliwack in one of the premier matchups at the Rod Thomson Memorial Invitational.

Haley, surrounded by a bevy of talented seniors like Martin Bogajev, Taylor Smith and Djordje Obradovic, brings an uncommon maturity to the proceedings, to the point where if his teammates are finding success on the floor, he is content to be their facilitator.

It’s a quality that has not escaped the notice of Canada Basketball executive VP Howard Kelsey, who says he has written personal letters to the likes of national team head coach Jay Triano and general manager Steve Nash to let them know about the emerging talent of Haley.

“A lot of kids in his scenario are looking to impress, but he is not,” Kelsey observes. “He just plays within himself and doesn’t force anything.”

Burnaby South’s Jermaine Haley.(PNG file photo)

In fact Kelsey, who saw Haley last spring as he led Burnaby South to the B.C. junior title where he was named tournament MVP, is lock-step with Bains in terms of the great character Haley brings to a locker room.

“The best part is that his not stuck on himself even with all of that potential,” Kelsey continues. “He’s just a good kid. I think it’s a fair statement to say that he has big-league stuff. When I watched him at the junior B.C.’s last (spring), I had never seen, in this province, a junior high school kid of his level.”

Burnaby South head coach David Smith, who brought Haley and three other juniors up to the senior varsity for the experience of a provincial tournament last March, has loved the way Haley has meshed with the full varsity squad this season.

“He really is easy to integrate with the Grade 12s because he sees the court so well, and he is so unselfish,” says Smith. “The challenge this year is getting him to be a little less unselfish. Everyone knows the talent he has, but he plays the game the right way and they all appreciate that.”

For his part, Haley says he’s starting to understand that. But everything he does comes from his point guard mentality.

“Nobody likes a ball hog,” he laughs. “Of course if it comes down to it, I can score when needed. But until then I am going to keep passing. I want to get everyone involved and I have always been a passer.”

Still growing, and with plenty of opportunity to put on muscle at the next level, major college programs have been making stops though YVR a part of their recruiting travels.

Bains said that Gonzaga was in town to watch Haley on Thursday, and added that Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Seattle, Illinois and Boston College were among the others expressing their interest.

“I think in the future you’ll start to see him get more nasty out there,” Bains adds, “but at the heart of it, he loves passing the ball. He is like a gazelle, he’s so fluid. If you’re in a gym full of players, you will point at him, and you’ll say ‘That one, right there.’”

THREE TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND

The holiday season means rest and relaxation, even on the courts. But for one final weekend, high school basketball takes centre stage. Here’s three places you need to be this weekend.

1. There’s top-notch senior boys varsity action at Burnaby South’s Rod Thomson Memorial. Friday’s three-game slate of Quad A clashes: 2:30 p.m. — No. 5 Burnaby South vs. No. 7 Sardis; 4:15 p.m. — No. 3 Sir Winston Churchill vs. No. 10 Yale; 6 p.m. — Claremont vs. No. 8 Terry Fox.2. Three Port Coquitlam-area high schools (Riverside, Terry Fox, Archbishop Carney) play host to the senior girls invtiational A Tournament For Emily. Games begin12 noon-8:25 p.m. Friday and 8:15 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday.3. If you have some time off mid-day Friday, head over to Coqutilam’s Gleneagle Secondary for the championship final (1:15 p.m.) of the Talons Invitational. It’s a great starting point for games later in the day in Burnaby and Port Coquitlam.

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